Why? He hadn't even visited the ancestral hall once, spending his days idly, only using his authority to oppress their Liu family.
How much had he taken from other peers?
Ah Jiu saw her sister-in-law's eyes were red and her whole body was tense. If this continued, she might not survive.
"Sister-in-law, you rest today, I'll go to the ancestral hall." Ah Jiu said, standing up to leave.
"Miss Liu, your attitude is very displeasing to me. If the illness cannot be cured, the Liu family will no longer practice medicine. This is a decree from the Prince himself. Be mindful."
That Eunuch Zhou bowed towards the sky, paying respects to the Prince.
Liu Cai'er had heard these words so many times that her ears were calloused, but each time it made her breathless. If they were forbidden to practice medicine forever, her father's life's work would be ruined.
Liu Cai'er collapsed onto the chair in despair, her eyes vacant.
"Miss Jiu'er is right, Miss Liu, you rest today. I'll accompany Jiu'er to take a look. We can discuss any situation when we return."
Yun Hao said, leading Ah Jiu out of the inn.
Zhang Mang drove the carriage, leading the way. "Yun Hao, why are you going to the ancestral hall so late? Why not go tomorrow?"
"Didn't you see how Eunuch Zhou was driving Miss Liu to madness?" Yun Hao also felt sorry for the Liu family. Old Master Liu was a benevolent healer.
Seeing so many people die one after another, he worked tirelessly. Coupled with his mental exhaustion, he couldn't hold on. If this Miss Liu also perished, how heartbroken would Old Master Liu be in the afterlife?
"It's just to put on a show, to shut his mouth." Yun Hao understood officialdom too well.
Ah Jiu didn't think so. She could at least extract some snake venom and save a few people for her sister-in-law. A person's collapse was always due to despair.
Then all she, Meng Jiu'er, could do was give her sister-in-law a glimmer of hope, so that she could persevere.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the southernmost part of Nanzhou County. There stood a dilapidated building resembling a mountain villa, but it was tightly enclosed by fences on all sides.
As the carriage entered the ancestral hall, Ah Jiu smelled a rotten stench she had never encountered before.
Under the makeshift thatched sheds on both sides lay countless people, half-dead and half-alive. Their groans echoed in her ears. At first glance, it was like arriving in hell.
"Miss Meng, it's here. Further ahead is the mass grave." Even Zhang Mang couldn't bear to look.
Yun Hao was the first to jump off the carriage and help Ah Jiu down. She looked around, turning in confusion, her brows furrowed.
This atmosphere, no matter how strong one's mental fortitude, could not withstand the erosion of so much death energy.
Ah Jiu finally understood why her sister-in-law had collapsed. It wasn't just her father's death. Such a place, to stay for three days, would drive anyone mad or make them extremely irritable.
"Another one died." Beside them, two officials were carrying a corpse southward, their faces wrapped in white cloth.
"I think that one is almost there too. Why not throw them together?"
Saying that, the man put down the emaciated corpse he was holding, turned, and pulled another person out from under the thatched shed, stacking them together on a bamboo board and carrying them away.
Ah Jiu swallowed. She saw that the arm of the person on top was still moving.
"Wait." Ah Jiu stepped forward.
"Who are you!"
"We are rescuers sent from the city. This is Doctor Meng the Fierce." Yun Hao took it upon himself to announce their identities.
Ah Jiu had already had the bamboo board set down and was feeling for a pulse.
Honestly, despite being so emaciated, it was still difficult to find a pulse.
"He still has a pulse, why are you about to throw him into the mass grave?" Ah Jiu muttered to herself.
"So it's a dispatched female doctor, Doctor Meng the Fierce. You may not know, but this one clearly won't survive the night. If he dies here, who knows if he'll be gnawed at. Miss Liu also gave instructions that those with severe illnesses that are beyond recovery can be sent to the mass grave in advance."
Ah Jiu frowned. How desperate had her sister-in-law been forced to be:
"Then take him back. As for this deceased brother, send him away."
Ah Jiu bit her lip. When she didn't understand medicine, she never had the mindset of a healer. Now, seeing the dead made her heart ache.
Perhaps Old Master Liu felt the same way, which was why he worked tirelessly and died of exhaustion.